LOTS of books and magazine articles tell you how to save money on hair, makeup and clothes.

But penny-pinching becomes an exact science in a new book by local writer Nina Willdorf.

“City Chic: An Urban Girl’s Guide to Livin’ Large on Less” (Sourcebooks, Inc.) goes beyond the standard “buy drugstore brands” advice to dish out specifics on everything from exactly which fabrics last longest (cotton and wool) to how to stock your spice cabinet for maximum mileage (if you can’t afford saffron, substitute turmeric).

“I kept trying to be more creative about how I could have the things I like,” Willdorf says, “whether that was going out to dinner with friends, having a drink at night or buying that cute skirt I had my eye on.”

After seeing too many friends max out their credit cards just to support their expensive tastes, Willdorf, 26, needed a way to fund her own quest for chic when she lost her lifestyle editor job when Worth magazine folded. She thought of the book.

Says Daily Candy founder Dany Levy, “Everyone seems to be fascinated by this concept of how to live a good life but save on little things in random different ways. Excess is in your face at all times. But the reality is, most of us can’t afford it.

In “City Chic,” Willdorf offers step-by-step money-saving tips, such as how to pick the right plant for your apartment and keep it alive, and calculating exactly how much you’ll save over a year if you pack your lunch every day.

Other helpful hints, from interviews with hundreds of women, include: When you need a dress for a special occasion, plan ahead to visit Filene’s Basement or Century 21 several times to find the perfect outfit.

And you can easily furnish your digs with choice pickings from the sidewalk right outside the international student dorms at any university.

Willdorf, who lives in a bargain East Village apartment with her boyfriend, also swears by cooking at home. Recently she held a dinner party and served $10 worth of roast chicken. (The recipe is in the book.)

“My guests brought a really fancy bottle of champagne that probably cost four times as much.” she said. “That was a really good dinner!”

Willdorf also praises one of her party hearty girlfriends for buying a six-pack at the local bodega and stashing it in her tote before heading to a bar, where she discretely pops the caps under the table with her key-ring bottle opener.

“And having a drink with a friend at home before you go out is always a good idea,” she adds.

The most important tip: Never, ever pay full price.

“You don’t have to buy things at retail prices and you don’t have to go out to dinner every night,” Willdorf says.

“There’s no need to go into debt.”

Save your lunch money

Pack your own $7 Lunch $10 Lunch

A week: $35 $50

A month: $140 $200

A year: $1,680 $2,400

Save annually: $960 $1,680

Cutting out: one $15 takeout one $40 dinner

A week: $15 $40

A month: $60 $160

A year: $720 $1,920

Source: City Chic

TIP: reasonable measures

In five years, when you’re making more than your age in salary, you may be able to drop $50 on a spanking-new T-shirt. But for today, it’s budget time. Here are some valuable price guidelines that will help you find what you need.

$20 – T-shirts, tank tops, belts

$40 – cotton sweaters, blouses, summer pants

$50 – pants, dresses, wool sweaters, sneakers

$100 – jeans, cashmere sweaters, shoes, wool winter pants

up to $200 – coats, bags, fancy shoes

Source: City Chic

Trash to treasure

Here are the best months for curbside shopping (in other words, rummaging through other people’s refuse):

August: September is a popular month for the start of leases, so start scouring the streets in the end of August in anticipation.

May: Years after graduating, the start of summer still signals a time for changes. Leases end, people sublet and the curbs fill up!

December: With presents and excess spending, December is a month of opulence and too much stuff. The key to this month is rescuing the curbside loot before it snows or freezes. A daily prowl can be fruitful.

January: All that December decadence requires a purge in January. Cash in.